How can a series involving a group of psychotic killers get any more terrifying? Series creator Kevin Williamson (Scream, The Vampire Diaries)  knows the answer and he used every inch of his creative genius to set the new path for Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) and his new set of followers in the second season of Fox’s The Following.

A year after Claire’s death, Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) seems to be living a normal life — staying healthy, teaching at University, making new friends and even reaching out to his family, more specifically his niece Max (Jessica Stroup), a New York police detective. On the surface, Ryan seemed on the top of his game, but this is only because he and Max are secretly working on weeding out the remainder of Joe’s followers, and even Joe himself, as Ryan believes that his arch nemesis did not die in the Lighthouse incident. When Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore) is called in by the FBI to consult for a killing spree in a New York subway train involving perpetrators using Joe Carroll masks, Ryan is convinced that Carroll is up to his usual antics. What he didn’t see coming was the appearance of a much more powerful villain, with more resources, and just the same amount of crazy that Joe has.

I thought that the first season of The Following was awesome and thrilling but Season 2 upped the ante with double the amount of crazies, this time involving twin psycho killers Mark and Luke (both played by Sam Underwood from Dexter). Underwood actually impressed me the most this season because of this kid has loads of intensity and portrays both of his characters with a sort of vulnerability and desperation that made viewers relate to him. However, he was still able to make them separate entities for the viewers. I really thought that there were actual twins playing the role at first but kudos to Sam for doing such a great job. Despite the obvious psychopathy, I actually liked his character so much I sometimes forgot that I was on Team Ryan.

I also liked the development of Mike and Ryan’s relationship this season and Mike’s evolution from a smart, by the book FBI agent to a dark and driven version of his old self after he suffered personal losses and started obsessing about his own nemesis. There were a couple of times Ryan and Joe mentioned that he was turning into Ryan and I liked  that despite the fact that he was going dark, he was basically the same dude. This was a challenging season for Shawn Ashmore, indeed and he stepped up the plate and delivered. Plus I liked his character’s chemistry with Max, specially in the last episode. They make a great pair and gave the show a breath of fresh air from all the mayhem and violence.

Speaking of character development, Joe and Ryan’s weird  bromance was one of the main highlights of this season. The last three episodes had Joe expounding on his connection with Ryan and how he was his best friend, which was weird but made a lot of sense considering the odds — how similar they were and how they were both obsessed with the other. It was creepy but it made a lot of sense. It was a defining moment that wasn’t there in the first season despite the constant taunting and it was a great moment to see.

At first, I was actually wondering how the second season would play out. I knew that the guy in the lighthouse was a very important component in building season 2 but the twist still surprised me. What surprised me even more was how Joe managed to build another set of followers, this time using religion as a base and abandoning the Edgar Allan Poe route. It was scary how Joe was able to easily manipulate and brainwash Korban cult members into believing that he was a prophet and that he holds the key to salvation, and that in real life how the possibility is also open. How easy to convert religious fanaticism into psychotic killer obsession was one of the most horrifying realizations this season presented.

Admittedly, this season was not perfect. There were a lot of facepalm moments for Ryan at the beginning when he stubbornly refused to involve Mike and went all maverick on the cops with his own investigation. His carelessness was astounding but so was the FBI’s inability to track Joe and his followers despite all of the resources available to them. I was glad when Ryan finally decided to let Mike in on his team and their trio with Max was complete. At least he had some solid backup. All I could say about this ragtag team is that they have the luck of the Irish. It seemed like there were close calls in almost all of the episodes. I was so tired worrying about them. It was exciting but very very exhausting.

All in all, Season 2 was definitely more violent and showed less regard for human (or animal) life, depicting them as disposable tools to build a legacy. Viewers will learn more about the motivation of Joe and Ryan and the ending seemed like it could work as a series finale as well. But it was also open for a third season, which according to reports will be helmed by a new showrunner Jennifer Johnson from Alcatraz. It would be interesting to see what she brings to the table when it seems that the Carroll/Hardy chapter (the strongest storyline of the show) has drawn to a close.